Bahraich Communal Clash: After Withdrawing UAPA, Muslims Accused Now Charged With CLA

The Uttar Pradesh Police that had earlier “wrongly booked” nearly 200 Muslims under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in Khair village of Bahraich district over a communal clash during procession for Durga idol immersion, have now removed the UAPA, and have instead imposed the Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Act on them – an act no less draconian than the former.

A local journalist, Saleem Siddiqui, told Newsclick that the Muslim community has been terrified following this move. 

"Those who have been booked under Section 7 of the CLA Act are called to the police station every now and then, and money is extorted from them. The police ask for money according to their capacity. If they do not give it to the police, they are sent behind the bars. Because of fear, people are still not coming back to the village. Only women and children are left in the village," he said.

Saleem added, "People of Khair Bazar do not even know about the CLA or the UAPA. Most of the people who have convicted are farmers and poor people. The local police is terrorising them."

Bahraich Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover told Newsclick that the police officials in-charge prior to him had “erroneously” attributed serious charges like UAPA. It was a 'typographical error'. When asked how did the police identify the 200 accused, who are ‘unknown’ according to the FIR, he replied that the police have a video as the evidence.

What is Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act?

Human Rights lawyer Abubakr Sabbaq told Newsclick, "This section prevails only in Uttar Pradesh which is a draconian, pre-independence era provision to control any movement against the British government. This section was also used in 2001 Kanpur ADM murder case, and recently in Bahraich, where police arbitrarily registered a crime report under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), but later replaced it with CLA after unrest in civil societies, and their opposition. It’s misused by Uttar Pradesh police only."

Another lawyer, who also went to Bahraich as a member of a fact-finding committee, said, "Laws meant for the benefit of the society take no time to be turned into a draconian step to exploit a particular community. Likewise, Section 7, CLA Act has always been under the ambit of apprehensions. It has the potential to create an environment of disharmony."

Bahraich Communal Clash 

On October 20, nearly 200 Muslims were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after communal clashes took place between the two communities during Durga idol procession in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh.

The police had implicated the Muslims en masse with criminal charges following the clashes. As a result of the subsequent “police atrocities”, hundreds of families have allegedly fled their villages.

In Khair bazar, on November 20, a huge procession of Durga 'visarjan' was carried out, and it was reportedly routed through a Muslim-majority locality. It allegedly stopped in front of a mosque, and the devotees reportedly started throwing colours inside the mosque. The people in the procession were armed with sticks and swords, according to witnesses. Provocative slogans were also being reportedly chanted, which led to the clashes between the two communities, according to locals.

However, after the complaint lodged by one Ajay Shukla, who was allegedly present during the procession, an FIR was lodged against 200 Muslims, out of which, 80 Muslims were named. 

Although it was dropped later, the random inclusion of sections of UAPA shows how the police is abusing the power, and how it allegedly used a draconian law to simply terrorise people. Some of the men charged are not juveniles. One of the accused Seban Ahmed was allegedly in Riyadh during the communal clash.

Read more: Nearly 200 Muslim Youth Booked Under UAPA After Bahraich Clashes